JP2010187758A - Medical image display device, medical image display method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To display a medical image to be easily viewable, and to improve the operability of inputting instructions for a various functions. <P>SOLUTION: A medical image display device 40 receives a medical image and supplementary information corresponding to the medical image from a PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System for medical application) 30 and displays them in a viewer screen 441. When the medical image is selected by a mouse 43a, a menu box to be displayed is determined on the basis of the supplementary information about the medical image and displayed. When display switch is instructed by the mouse 43a, a display format of the menu box is changed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a medical image display device, a medical image display method, and a program.

  Conventionally, in the medical field, digitization of medical images obtained by photographing a patient has been realized. A medical image is digitized by various modalities such as a CR (Computed Radiography) apparatus, a CT (Computed Tomography) apparatus, and an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) apparatus.

  DICOM basic information conforming to DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communication In Medicine) standard is stored in the management server together with digitized medical images, and medical images are stored in a medical image management system (hereinafter, PACS: Picture Archiving and Communication System for). medical application).

  Accompanying the diversification of medical images to be interpreted, the interpreting physician performs various image processing on the medical images displayed on the high-definition monitor for interpretation. An instruction input for image processing is often performed on a menu box displayed superimposed on a medical image or by an instruction input on a menu bar displayed at the top of the screen.

  In general image processing software, a menu classified for each function related to image processing and display is displayed. In the hierarchical menu displayed as text, it is difficult to see the menu due to the limitation of the number of characters and the complexity of the hierarchy, and it is difficult to find the target menu. In the technique of Non-Patent Document 1, a menu box including various icons corresponding to functions is displayed superimposed on an image. By switching the tabs of one menu box, a plurality of menu boxes can be displayed, and the display space can be reduced.

In interpretation, a plurality of medical images are often displayed on the monitor at the same time, and depending on the display position of the menu box, it is difficult to see the medical images.
For example, since the menu box corresponding to various functions is always displayed superimposed on the medical image, it becomes difficult to see the medical image. Since the display position of the menu box is determined in advance, in order to perform various operations, it is necessary to move the mouse pointer to the menu box one by one. Further, in order to execute menu box movement, display switching, and the like, it is necessary to select a tab at the top of the menu box each time.

  In Patent Document 1, a plurality of organ regions included in a tomographic image are extracted, a superimposed image in which the maximum pixel value projection image or the minimum pixel value projection image is superimposed is generated and displayed on a monitor, and is parallel to the medical image. A technique for performing image processing by performing an input operation on a menu displayed in this manner is disclosed.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-261531

"Adobe Photoshop CS4-New Features", [online], Adobe Systems, Inc. [Search January 23, 2009], Internet, (URL: http://www.adobe.com/jp/joc/pscs4/ whatsnew / whatsnew_07.html)

  However, in the technique of Patent Literature 1, since a menu for performing various operations in parallel with a medical image is displayed, the display area of the medical image becomes narrow. In the technique of Non-Patent Document 1, a menu box including buttons corresponding to multiple functions can be displayed. However, since the menu box is always displayed superimposed on the image, it is difficult to see the image.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to display medical images in an easy-to-view manner and improve operability for inputting instructions of various functions.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention described in claim 1
A medical image display device that receives a medical image and accompanying information corresponding to the medical image,
Display means for displaying the medical image;
Operating means for selecting a medical image displayed on the display means;
Control means for determining a menu box to be displayed based on the supplementary information corresponding to the medical image selected by the operation means, and causing the display means to display the determined menu box;
It is characterized by providing.

The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1,
The operation means is for instructing display switching of a menu box displayed on the display means,
The control unit is configured to change a display form of a menu box displayed on the display unit when display switching is instructed by the operation unit.

The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2,
Storage means for storing the menu box displayed on the display means;
The control means determines a menu box to be displayed based on incidental information corresponding to the medical image selected by the selection means and the menu box stored in the storage means, and the determined menu box is It is characterized by being displayed on a display means.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The supplementary information is information for identifying a modality in which a medical image is taken.

The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The operating means is a pointing device,
The control means displays the menu box at a position corresponding to a cursor displayed on the display means.

The invention described in claim 6
A method of displaying a medical image of a medical image display device that receives a medical image and incidental information corresponding to the medical image,
The medical image display apparatus includes a control step of determining a menu box to be displayed based on incidental information corresponding to the medical image selected by the operation unit, and causing the display unit to display the determined menu box. Features.

The invention described in claim 7
A computer for receiving a medical image and incidental information corresponding to the medical image;
Display means for displaying the medical image;
Operating means for selecting a medical image displayed on the display means;
Control means for determining a menu box to be displayed based on supplementary information corresponding to the medical image selected by the operation means, and causing the display means to display the determined menu box;
To function as.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to display medical images in an easy-to-see manner and improve operability for inputting instructions for various functions.

It is a figure which shows the example of whole structure of the image display system in this Embodiment. It is a principal block diagram which shows the functional structure of the medical image display apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of the viewer screen displayed on the display part of FIG. An example of a menu box is shown, (a) is an example of the menu table memorize | stored in the memory | storage part of FIG. 2, (b) is an example of the menu box contained in the use menu group A, (c) is used. It is an example of a menu box included in the menu group B. It is a flowchart of the menu display process performed by the control part of FIG. It is a flowchart of the menu display process performed by the control part of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example when a menu box is superimposed and displayed on the viewer screen displayed on the display part of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example when the menu box of the viewer screen displayed on the display part of FIG. 2 is switched and displayed. It is a figure which shows an example when the active medical image of the viewer screen displayed on the display part of FIG. 2 is switched. It is a figure which shows an example when a menu box is superimposed and displayed on the viewer screen displayed on the display part of FIG. It is a figure which shows an example when the menu box of the viewer screen displayed on the display part of FIG. 2 is switched and displayed.

FIG. 1 shows an image display system 100 according to this embodiment.
The image display system 100 includes an RIS (Radiology Information System) 10, a modality 20, a PACS 30, one or more medical image display devices 40, and the like. Each device is connected by a network cable 50, and transmits and receives data such as medical images by DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine).

  The RIS 10 is a radiology information system that manages information in the radiology department. The RIS 10 receives the input of order information by the operator, registers the order information, and transmits it to the modality 20. The order information includes patient information, examination information, image information, and the like.

  The modality 20 is an imaging apparatus that images a patient and generates data relating to a medical image, and specifically includes a CT (Computed Tomography) apparatus, an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) apparatus, and a CR (Computed Radiography) apparatus.

  The modality 20 attaches a part of the order information (hereinafter referred to as supplementary information) to the generated medical image, and transmits the medical image and the supplementary information to the PACS 30. The incidental information includes, for example, an imaging modality name, a patient name, an examination date, and an image number, and specific contents are specified by tag information. For example, if the tag information included in the incidental information is “<0008, 0060> = CR”, it indicates that the image is a medical image taken by the CR device, and if “<0018, 0015> = CHEST”, the inspection is performed. Indicating that the site is the chest, etc.

  A PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System for medical application) 30 stores medical images and supplementary information, and transmits medical images and supplementary information according to a request from the medical image display device 40. When a medical image is received from the modality 20, a thumbnail image corresponding to the medical image is created and stored.

The medical image display device 40 is for displaying medical images and thumbnail images received from the PACS 30.
FIG. 2 shows an internal configuration of the medical image display device 40.
The medical image display device 40 includes a control unit 41, a RAM 42, an operation unit 43, a display unit 44, a communication unit 45, a storage unit 46, and the like, and each unit is connected by a bus 47.

  The control unit 41 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like. The control unit 41 executes a menu display process to be described later in cooperation with various programs stored in the storage unit 46.

  A RAM (Random Access Memory) 42 functions as a work area that temporarily stores various programs, input or output data, parameters, and the like read from the storage unit 46 in various processes controlled by the control unit 41. To do.

  The operation unit 43 includes a mouse 43a, a keyboard having cursor keys, numeric input keys, various function keys, and the like. The operation unit 43 outputs, to the control unit 41, an input signal of a key press signal pressed by the keyboard and an operation signal from the mouse 43a.

  The display unit 44 includes, for example, a monitor such as a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) or an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), and displays a viewer screen 441 or the like in accordance with an instruction of a display signal input from the control unit 41.

  FIG. 3 shows an example of the viewer screen 441 displayed on the display unit 44. As shown in FIG. 3, the viewer screen 441a includes a menu area 442 for instructing various functions related to medical images such as gradation processing, and image display fields 443a and 443b for displaying medical images (hereinafter, these two items). Are simply referred to as an image display field) and a thumbnail image display field 444 for designating a medical image to be displayed in the image display field.

  The viewer screen 441 displays a medical image for each patient. When a patient is designated from a patient list screen (not shown) displayed on the display unit 44, the patient ID of this patient is transmitted to the PACS 30. In the PACS 30, a medical image in which the received patient ID matches the patient ID included in the accompanying information is searched, and the accompanying information, the medical image, and the thumbnail image are transmitted to the medical image display device 40. In the medical image display device 40, a viewer screen 441 is displayed, and a thumbnail image is displayed in the thumbnail image display field 444.

  When a thumbnail image displayed in the thumbnail image display field 444 is selected by the operation unit 43, a medical image corresponding to the thumbnail image is displayed in the image display field. For example, when a thumbnail image displayed in the thumbnail image display field 444 is double-clicked with the mouse 43a, a medical image corresponding to the thumbnail image is displayed in the image display field.

  When the medical image displayed in the image display field is activated by input from the operation unit 43 and each button in the menu area 442 is selected, image processing or the like can be performed on the activated medical image. For example, when the mouse pointer (cursor) is moved to the image display field 443a and the mouse 43a is clicked, the medical image displayed in the image display field 443a becomes active. When the mouse operation is performed while the “gradation processing” button in the menu area 442 is selected, gradation processing can be executed on the medical image displayed in the image display field 443a. The operations on the other buttons displayed in the menu area 442 are the same. Hereinafter, an operation instruction for a medical image corresponding to a button displayed in the menu area 442 is simply referred to as a function. A frame D shown in FIG. 441 is for indicating that the medical image is activated.

  The communication unit 45 is configured by a network interface or the like, and transmits / receives data to / from each device connected to the network cable 50.

  The storage unit 46 is configured by an HDD (Hard Disc Drive), a semiconductor nonvolatile memory, or the like. The storage unit 46 stores various programs including a system program executed by the control unit 41, and stores data processed by the various programs. In addition, the storage unit 46 stores a menu table T1 for identifying a menu box to be displayed by a menu display process described later.

FIG. 4A shows an example of the menu table T1 stored in the storage unit 46. As shown in FIG. 4A, the menu table T1 includes the purpose of functions performed on the medical image, supplementary information attached to the medical image, a use menu group indicating a collection of menu boxes to be displayed on the viewer screen 441, Presence / absence of reset (details will be described later) and identification information for identifying the menu box previously displayed on the viewer screen 441 are stored in association with each other.
In the example shown in FIG. 4A, the purpose and the type of modality are described in association with each other. However, the use menu group may be specified for each purpose based on the incidental information. Not limited. For example, the imaging part and the purpose may be associated with each other.

FIG. 4B shows an example of the use menu group A. As shown in FIG. 4B, the use menu group A includes a menu box A1 and a menu box A2.
FIG. 4C shows an example of the use menu group B. As shown in FIG. 4C, the use menu group B includes a menu box B1 and a menu box B2.
The display of the menu boxes A1 and A2 shown in FIG. 4B and the menu boxes B1 and B2 shown in FIG. 4C are switched by menu display processing described later.

Next, the operation will be described.
FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of menu display processing executed by the control unit 41 when an instruction to display the viewer screen 441 is input from the operation unit 43 to the control unit 41. The menu display process is executed in cooperation with the control unit 41 and a program stored in the storage unit 46.

  As shown in FIG. 5, first, the viewer screen 441 is displayed on the display unit 44 (step S1). Of the medical images displayed in the image display field, the incidental information corresponding to the activated medical image is acquired (step S2). A use menu group is determined based on the incidental information (step S3). Specifically, it is determined by referring to the menu table T1 stored in the storage unit 46 and by referring to the use menu group of the record that matches the incidental information acquired in step S2.

  Next, it is determined whether or not a menu display request is input from the operation unit 43 (step S4). The menu display request refers to a predetermined instruction for displaying a menu box corresponding to an activated medical image. For example, the mouse pointer is clicked on the activated medical image and the mouse 43a is clicked. Etc.

  When it is determined that the menu display request has been input (step S4; YES), it is determined whether or not the reset of the menu table T1 corresponding to the supplementary information of the activated medical image indicates reset ( Step S5).

  If it is determined that reset is indicated (step S5; YES), an initial menu is displayed at the position indicated by the mouse pointer on the display unit 44 (step S6). The initial menu is a predetermined menu box among the menu boxes corresponding to the use menu group. The initial menu of the use menu group A is the menu box A1 in the example of FIG. 4B and the menu box B1 in the example of the use menu group B of FIG.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of the viewer screen 441 displayed on the display unit in step S6. As shown in FIG. 7, a menu box 445 is displayed at the position indicated by the mouse pointer. When the active medical image (the medical image displayed in the image display field 443a in the example of FIG. 7) is captured in CR, the menu table T1 shown in FIG. It is determined that the use menu group is “A” by reference, and a menu box (menu box A1 shown in FIG. 4B) corresponding to this use menu group is displayed as a menu box 445.

  If it is determined that reset is indicated (step S5; NO), the menu box that was closed last time (erased from the display unit 44) is displayed (step S7). Specifically, a menu box corresponding to the previous display of the menu table T1 stored in the storage unit 45 is displayed.

Next, it is determined whether or not a menu switching request is input from the operation unit 43 (step S8). The menu switching request is a predetermined instruction for switching the display form of the menu box displayed on the viewer screen 441. For example, the menu pointer is moved to the menu box by right-clicking.
When it is determined that a menu switching request has been input (step S8; YES), the display form of the menu box is switched (step S9). Specifically, the display is switched to another menu box having the same menu group as the menu box displayed on the display unit 44.

  FIG. 8 shows an example of the viewer screen 441 displayed on the display unit in step S9. As shown in FIG. 8, the menu box 445 shown in FIG. 7 is switched and a menu box 446 is displayed. In the example of FIG. 8, the menu box 446 is the menu box A2 of FIG.

  If it is not determined that a menu switching request has been input (step S8; NO), it is determined whether a request to execute the function displayed in the menu box has been input from the operation unit 43 (step S10). That is, it is determined whether or not the function corresponding to each button displayed in the menu box has been executed. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 8, “enlargement / reduction” is selected from the buttons in the menu box 446, and the image display field For example, it is determined whether or not the enlargement display process of the medical image 443a has been executed.

  When it is not determined that the function execution request is input from the operation unit 43 (step S10; NO), it is determined whether an instruction to close the menu box is input from the operation unit 43 (step S11). The instruction to close the menu box is a predetermined instruction from the operation unit 43 to the control unit 41. For example, an area other than the menu box is clicked by the mouse 43a.

  If it is not determined that an instruction to close the menu box is input from the operation unit 43 (step S11; NO), the process returns to step S8, and it is determined whether a menu switching request is input from the operation unit 43. . In this state, if it is determined in step S8 that a menu switching request has been input, the menu box display form is further switched in step S9.

  When it is determined that a function execution request is input from the operation unit 43 (step S10; YES), the function is executed (that is, image processing or the like is executed) according to the input (step S12).

  When it is determined that an instruction to close the menu box is input from the operation unit 43 (step S11; YES), the process proceeds to FIG. 6 and the menu box is closed (step S13). The identification information corresponding to the closed menu box is stored as the previous display of the menu table T1 in the storage unit 45 (step S14). Based on the switching state stored in step S14, the menu to be displayed in step S7 is determined.

  If it is not determined that a menu display request has been input (step S4; NO), it is determined whether an instruction to change a medical image to be activated is input from the operation unit 43 (step S15). If it is determined that a change instruction has been input (step S15; YES), the process returns to step S2, and incidental information corresponding to the changed active medical image is acquired.

If it is not determined that a change instruction has been input (step S15; NO), it is determined whether or not a request to end the viewer screen 441 has been input from the operation unit 43 (step S16).
If it is not determined that an end request has been input (step S16; NO), the process returns to step S4, and it is determined whether or not a menu display request has been input from the operation unit 43.
If it is determined that an end request has been input (step S16; YES), the process ends.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of the viewer screen 441 displayed when it is determined in step S15 that an instruction to change a medical image to be activated has been issued. In the example illustrated in FIG. 9, an instruction is given to activate the medical image displayed in the image display field 443 b from the state of the viewer screen 441 illustrated in FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 9, the frame D that is displayed superimposed on the image display field 443a is deleted, and the frame D is displayed superimposed on the image display field 443b.

  FIG. 10 shows an example of the viewer screen 441 displayed on the display unit 44 in step S6. In the example illustrated in FIG. 10, the medical image displayed in the activated image display field 443b is captured by the MRI apparatus. A menu box 447 different from the menu box 445 shown in FIG. 7 is displayed superimposed on the image display field 443b. This menu box is a menu box B1 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of the viewer screen 441 displayed on the display unit 44 in step S9. The example shown in FIG. 11 is an example of the viewer screen 441 displayed when a menu switching instruction is input from the state of the viewer screen 441 shown in FIG. This menu box 448 is the menu box B2 in FIG.

  As described above, according to the medical image display device 40 in the present embodiment, the menu to be displayed can be determined and displayed based on the supplementary information of the medical image displayed on the viewer screen 441 by the menu display process. It is possible to display a menu box according to the usage and situation, and the operation burden can be reduced.

  Further, since the menu to be displayed first can be determined by setting whether or not to reset, the menu box used last time (that is, immediately before closing) can be displayed first. For example, if the menu display instruction is input for the medical image displayed in the image display field 443a after the menu box 446 displayed as shown in FIG. 8 is closed, the reset setting is “Yes”. A menu box 445 shown in FIG. 7 is displayed. If the reset setting is “None”, a menu box 446 shown in FIG. 8 is displayed. For example, when the use frequency of the menu box 445 is overwhelmingly higher than that of the menu box 446, the menu box 446 can be displayed only when necessary by setting the reset to “present”.

  Similarly, if a menu display instruction is input for a medical image displayed in the image display field 443b after the menu box 448 displayed as shown in FIG. 11 is closed, the reset setting may be “Yes”. For example, the menu box 447 shown in FIG. 10 is displayed, and if the reset setting is “None”, the menu box 448 shown in FIG. 11 is displayed. For example, the menu box 447 is used more frequently than the menu box 448, but after switching to the menu box 448, the same image processing is performed until the end of the viewer screen 441. Interpretation can be performed.

  Further, by switching the display form of the menu box, it is possible to easily switch display between a detailed menu box and a simple menu box. Furthermore, according to the purpose, for example, the menu box for the image processing system and the menu box for the annotation drawing system can be switched, or the menu box for the examination system and the examination system can be switched. By using the mouse, the menu box display can be switched with a simple operation.

  In addition, by displaying a menu corresponding to the modality in which the medical image is taken, it is possible to display a menu more suited to the purpose of the interpreting doctor.

Note that the description in the present embodiment described above is an example of a suitable medical image display apparatus according to the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, in the present embodiment, the menu box to be displayed on the viewer screen 441 is stored in the menu table T1, but the incidental information of the medical image and the menu box to be displayed are stored in association with each other. Well, not limited to this. For example, it may be stored in a table having another configuration.

  In the present embodiment, the use menu group A includes the menu boxes A1 and A2, and the use menu group B includes the menu boxes B1 and B2. However, the menu boxes included in the use menu group The number of is not limited to two and may be three or more. In this case, if it is not determined in step S11 that a request to close the menu has been input, the menu box display is switched each time a menu switching instruction is input on the menu box. That is, a menu box switching request is always awaited until it is determined in step S10 that there is a function execution request or a menu closing request is input in step S11.

  Further, although the example in which the mouse 43a is applied as the pointing device has been described, the menu box may be displayed at the position of the cursor corresponding to the pointing device connected to the medical image display device 40. The pointing device here refers to all input devices that specify the input position and coordinates on the screen, and examples thereof include a trackball, a touch pad, and a pen tablet other than the mouse.

  In the above description, an example in which a hard disk, a semiconductor nonvolatile memory, or the like is used as a computer-readable medium of the program according to the present invention is disclosed, but the present invention is not limited to this example. As another computer-readable medium, a portable recording medium such as a CD-ROM can be applied. A carrier wave is also applied as a medium for providing program data according to the present invention via a communication line.

  In addition, the detailed configuration and detailed operation of each device constituting the medical image display device can be changed as appropriate without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

100 image display system 10 RIS
20 modalities 30 PACS
40 medical image display device 41 control unit 42 RAM
43 Operation unit 44 Display unit 441 Viewer screen 45 Communication unit 46 Storage unit

Claims (7)

A medical image display device that receives a medical image and accompanying information corresponding to the medical image,
Display means for displaying the medical image;
Operating means for selecting a medical image displayed on the display means;
Control means for determining a menu box to be displayed based on the supplementary information corresponding to the medical image selected by the operation means, and causing the display means to display the determined menu box;
A medical image display device comprising: The operation means is for instructing display switching of a menu box displayed on the display means,
The medical image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit changes a display form of a menu box displayed on the display unit when display switching is instructed by the operation unit. Storage means for storing the menu box displayed on the display means;
The control means determines a menu box to be displayed based on incidental information corresponding to the medical image selected by the selection means and the menu box stored in the storage means, and the determined menu box is The medical image display device according to claim 1, wherein the medical image display device displays the image on a display unit.   The medical image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the supplementary information is information for identifying a modality in which a medical image is captured. The operating means is a pointing device,
The medical image display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit displays the menu box at a position corresponding to the cursor displayed on the display unit. A method of displaying a medical image of a medical image display device that receives a medical image and incidental information corresponding to the medical image,
The medical image display apparatus includes a control step of determining a menu box to be displayed based on incidental information corresponding to the medical image selected by the operation unit, and causing the display unit to display the determined menu box. A medical image display method as a feature. A computer for receiving a medical image and incidental information corresponding to the medical image;
Display means for displaying the medical image;
Operating means for selecting a medical image displayed on the display means;
Control means for determining a menu box to be displayed based on supplementary information corresponding to the medical image selected by the operation means, and causing the display means to display the determined menu box;
Program to function as.